The first thing I hear when I criticize fanatical, extreme, hysterical, incessant, never-ending criticism of Pope Francis is, “you think a pope can never be criticized for anything!” If I had a dime for every time I have heard this lie, I’d be a rich man. I have never believed that the pope can never be criticized. I’ve written several times about this: On Rebuking Popes & Catholic Obedience to Popes [12-27-17] On Rebuking Popes & Obedience to Popes, Part II [12-28-17]... Read more
I’ve now written three articles related to Pope Francis’ document, Traditionis custodes: Pope Francis’ Traditionis Custodes is for the Sake of Unity [7-16-21] Skojec Loathes Traditionis; Illustrates Why it is Necessary [7-19-21] Catholics (?) Trash, Judge, & Mind-Read the Pope (In 1968, “all” the liberal Catholics rejected Humanae Vitae. Now in 2021, “all” the self-described “conservative” Catholics reject Traditionis Custodes — and none see the outright absurdity and irony of this) [7-20-21] The first analyzed Traditionis itself. The second illustrated that even well-known reactionaries like Steve Skojec (of One... Read more
In 1968, “all” the liberal Catholics rejected Humanae Vitae. Now in 2021, “all” the self-described “conservative” Catholics reject Traditionis Custodes (and none see the outright absurdity and irony of this) I hasten to clarify that I am not denying (by my rhetorical question mark) that these folks are canonical, doctrinal, creedal Catholics, or by virtue of their baptism, etc. My point is that in so acting, they violate the very essence and spirit of what it means to be a... Read more
The material formerly here has been re-worked, modified, and edited and is now included only in my book, The Word Set in Stone: How Archaeology, Science, and History Back Up the Bible (Catholic Answers Press: March 15, 2023) *** Photo credit: Abraham Sees Sodom in Flames, by James Tissot (1836-1902) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** Read more
The Broad Definition of “King” in the Ancient Near East, + Biblical Use of “Chiefs of Edom” Atheist anti-theist Jonathan M. S. Pearce is the main writer on the blog, A Tippling Philosopher. His “About” page states: “Pearce is a philosopher, author, blogger, public speaker and teacher from Hampshire in the UK. He specialises in philosophy of religion, but likes to turn his hand to science, psychology, politics and anything involved in investigating reality.” His words will be in blue. ***** I am responding to a... Read more
[see book and purchase information] I just wrote about the new papal document: Pope Francis’ Traditionis Custodes is for the Sake of Unity (7-16-21). I predicted what the reaction to it would be: The only dispute is whether the problem was bad enough to justify a “clamping down” on the relatively free availability of the extraordinary form Mass. Pope Francis thought it was serious enough of a problem; so did the bishops. His critics won’t accept their judgment no matter what (and that... Read more
Pope Francis issued on 16 July 2021 the Apostolic Letter Issued “Motu proprio” entitled Traditionis Custodes. He also issued an explanatory letter to the bishops, to accompany this document. The latter is of extreme importance for understanding the motivations of the former. A Motu proprio document is of relatively lesser authority than other papal documents. The old Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) explained that this sort of document “decided on by the pope personally, that is, not on the advice of the cardinals or others,... Read more
Atheist anti-theist Jonathan M. S. Pearce is the main writer on the blog, A Tippling Philosopher. His “About” page states: “Pearce is a philosopher, author, blogger, public speaker and teacher from Hampshire in the UK. He specialises in philosophy of religion, but likes to turn his hand to science, psychology, politics and anything involved in investigating reality.” His words will be in blue. ***** I am responding to a portion of Pearce’s article, Exodus Sidebar: Replying to Armstrong about Camels (5-24-21). Pearce enlists Donald B. Redford, whom... Read more
This is a collection of remarks made in my last two Facebook posts before ceasing to post anything new there anymore: the first on seriously considering leaving, and the second, announcing my departure (slightly edited here and there for flow). Line breaks and asterisks imply separate comments. ***** The stupid Facebook algorithm stifles exposure and harms my work. It’s very different than it used to be. It actually censors. * I’m disgusted with Facebook and its brain-dead censorship, which leads... Read more
I have wondered about the very old ages of the patriarchs in Genesis (if we take them at face value) at various times, but have never done a study of it in my forty years of writing apologetics. It seemed to me a good time to tackle it, since I have recently been doing a great deal of writing on the Old Testament. In particular, in my paper, How Many Israelites in the Exodus?, I followed an interpretation of the stated... Read more
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